Lab Members

Dr. Gooley joined Duke-NUS Medical School in 2008 as an Assistant Professor in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program. He is Principal Investigator of the Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory, located in the SingHealth Investigational Medicine Unit at Singapore General Hospital. In 2005, he received his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard Medical School (HMS), where he studied neural pathways that mediate entrainment of circadian rhythms. During his postdoctoral fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, USA) and HMS, his research focused on effects of light on circadian rhythms and melatonin secretion. His current research program at Duke-NUS focuses on understanding the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in regulating human performance and physiology.(link to Dr. Gooley’s publications)

The brain not only allows us to process sensory information and execute motor commands, but also allows us to think, analyze, and learn. The memories and experiences stored in the brain guide our actions in the future and facilitate problem-solving. I am interested in studying the neural mechanisms that underlie learning, memory, and creative thinking.

The Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory (CL) is also interested in the pupillary light responses, which are mediated by the same intrinsially photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGC) which mediate other non-visual responses to light like circadian rhythms and sleep/wake regulation. Rukmini worked on the development of a light exposure protocol for chromatic pupillometry useful for sreening of eye diseases, based on the differential light responses of rods, cones and ipRGC during her PhD at the CL. Prior to joining the CL as a Research fellow, she was with the Visual Neurosience laboratory at the Singapore Eye Research Institute and helped in the further development of chromatic pupillometry as a sreening tool for ocular diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and others.

As a night owl, I constantly struggle to fall asleep and wake up at the right hours. I learned the hard way that sleep deprivation and bad sleep habits can have a detrimental impact on many aspects of our daily lives, such as our performance and mood. As a research assistant in the sleep lab, I hope to study the neurological effects of sleep and develop scientifically-proven strategies to help people sleep and live better.

My interests lie in the role of sleep in memory consolidation, both long and short term, alongside how the effects of alcohol and age can mediate these consolidation processes. I am also fascinated by the psychopharmacological effects of substances such as alcohol. At CSL I am looking to develop my research skills through experience with physiological and cognitive-behavioural methodology.

Sleep, although usually taken for granted, is absolutely essential to ensure proper function of our brain and body, such as cognitive processing and glucose metabolism. Thus, with this opportunity I hope to leverage on my previous research experience to explore and elucidate the role of sleep in learning and memory.

My research interests are in improving learning and policy outcomes through information processing models of memory, and higher cognitive processes. In the lab, I seek to understand how sleep impacts these processes and the mechanisms of which they do so. Prior to joining ALSET, I worked in the Synergy Lab, researching on the attitudes and behaviours towards organ donation policies.

Sleep is an intricate part of everyday life, and yet, despite its immense importance as a basic necessity to survival, we as human beings tend to forgo sleep in pursuit of more desirable exploits. As such, I have embarked upon this journey of joining CSL to better elucidate the underlying intricacies of sleep and circadian rhythms. I hope that my analytical and critical thinking skills would greatly benefit CSL.

I have always been attracted to areas of science that can be applied to anyone's daily life, and the study of sleep is no exception. Through my stint at CSL, I wish to refine my research abilities, implement my existing knowledge and contribute to our understanding of sleep.

I've been fascinated with sleep since my first lab attachment as an undergrad, where I studied the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in major depressive disorders. Since then, I developed a particular interest in the relationship between sleep and mood. As part of CSL, I look forward to investigating the effects of sleep on mood and how that interaction can affect day-to-day behavior such as cognition and learning.

I have been fascinated with the fact that different people need different amounts of sleep while there is a standard amount of sleep hours for people at certain ages. Also, with my strong interest in social and interpersonal relationships, I am also passionate to learn more about sleep deprivation relating to social skills in school and work environments.

In sleep, we dream, we recover, and we rise stronger tomorrow. I have an interest in examining how sleep affects daily living, learning, sociability, decision-making and food consumption. Returning as a full-time staff, I hope to carry on the laboratory's excellence in research.

BSc(Hons) ZoologyOrissa University of Agriculture and Technology, India

MSc. MicrobiologyOrissa University of Agriculture and Technology, India

At CSL I’m interested in understanding more about the role of sleep and sleep deprivation on cognition and human performance. I hope to broaden my knowledge in designing and conducting neuro-cognitive experiments, collection and management of data, writing manuscripts and help with recruitment. By doing rigorous experiments, I hope that one fine day we will stumble upon great ideas to help people get better sleep and lead a healthy life.

I am particularly curious about the circadian regulation of metabolism and the negative influence of sleep deprivation on human cognitive functions. Essentially, my interest lies in exploring the wonders of the human body. Through this attachment, I hope to gain valuable hands-on research experience and at the same time, contribute meaningfully to the team.

UndergraduateFaculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences (Biomedical Sciences), National University of Singapore, Singapore

If we spend an average of 8 hours on sleep every day, we would spend one-third of our lives sleeping. Sleep takes up so much time but we can't go without sleep for long! Hence, I am always intrigued by the importance of sleep (and the varying sleep needs in different people), and I hope that I would be able to learn more about the effects of sleep on cognitive performance and contribute as much as I can during my stint in CSL!

UndergraduateFaculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore

As someone who has had some pretty horrible sleep habits growing up, I think I only realised the importance of sleep when I took a unit about it on exchange. This stimulated my interest in the area and I am intrigued by the many implications sleep can have on our daily functioning. Through my attachment with CSL, I hope to better understand the intricacies of sleep research, and someday contribute towards improving attitudes toward sleep in Singapore.

UndergraduateFaculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Life Sciences (Biomedical Sciences), National University of Singapore, Singapore

Sleep is an important homeostatic process that is required by all, and an average person sleeps for about one third of his life. Increasingly, people are taking sleep for granted and sleep deprivation is a rising issue in today's world. I am interested to learn about how sleep deprivation can affect our daily living and metabolism and use this information to help Singapore become a healthier society.